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Monday, October 24, 2011

27 1/16. The Canterbury Tales

So why 27 1/16 ??

Geoffrey Chaucer (play /ˈɔːsər/; c. 1343 – 25 October 1400), known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. While he achieved fame during his lifetime as an author, philosopher, alchemist and astronomer, composing a scientific treatise on the astrolabe for his ten year-old son Lewis, Chaucer also maintained an active career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier and diplomat. Among his many works, which include The Book of the Duchess, the House of Fame, the Legend of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde, he is best loved today for The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer is a crucial figure in developing the legitimacy of the vernacular, Middle English, at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were French and Latin.

The Canterbury Tales contrasts with other literature of the period in the naturalism of its narrative, the variety of stories the pilgrims tell and the varied characters who are engaged in the pilgrimage. Many of the stories narrated by the pilgrims seem to fit their individual characters and social standing, although some of the stories seem ill-fitting to their narrators, perhaps as a result of the incomplete state of the work. Chaucer drew on real life for his cast of pilgrims: the innkeeper shares the name of a contemporary keeper of an inn in Southwark, and real-life identities for the Wife of Bath, the Merchant, the Man of Law and the Student have been suggested. The many jobs that Chaucer held in medieval society—page, soldier, messenger, valet, bureaucrat, foreman and administrator—probably exposed him to many of the types of people he depicted in the Tales. He was able to shape their speech and satirise their manners in what was to become popular literature among people of the same types.

that's why. As boring as the above information is, that is how boring the book is!!! I only got through 1 and 1/2 of the tales. So I guess I read about 1/16 of the book. And this was an audio book, so I was only able to LISTEN to 1 and 1/2 tales. I can't imagine reading it.

27. The Peach Keeper (A Megan book if there ever was)

I told Megan that I read a book that she would like. When I told her the name, she said that she loves this author.
Anyway, this is a story about a society for women that dates back 75 years. Today it is just a fluffy group but you come to find out that it was started to really help friends in trouble. The mystery I will leave you to discover is why a peaches and a dashing, charming, magical & dangerous?? stranger play such a strong role in this book.
Girls, you will love this book!

26. Buried Secrets

Good book of suspense. But don't read it if you are claustrophobic.
A shady billionare's daughter gets kidnapped for many many complicated reasons. His friend, private eye, Nick Heller, is on the job to find her.
Long story short, the kidnapper buries the girl in a coffin 10 feet underground with a hose for air and a camera on her to show her dad via computer. Of course, she is freaking out!!
But Nick finds her at the last minute and all ends well pretty much.

25. Now you See Her

Okay book. 50 year old Marcy Taggert's husband just left her for his young tennis pro at the club. And her bi-polar daughter, Devon, drowned in a canoeing accident (or did she?).  So Marcy goes to Ireland on what was supposed to be her 30th wedding anniversary trip. While there she thinks she sees Devon. So she hunts all over, meets two men, sleeps with one of them, and looks for her daughter with the other one.
Spoiler - the 2nd man turns out to be a creep who kidnaps a baby with a woman who looks like the lost Devon. They want money of course. They get caught, thank goodness. And it turns out that Devon really did kill herself because she didn 't want to live such an unhappy life as an out of control bi-polar sufferer.
Oh, by the way, Marcy's mother committed suicide when Marcy was 13.
You can probably skip this one!

24. I Still Dream about You

Nice story by the same author who wrote Fried Green Tomatoes. Maggie Fortenberry, former Miss Alabama, now 60 years old, single and childless, and realtor, is planning her suicide. Life just doesn't seem like it is going anywhere. And she just wants to disappear without causing anyone any discomfort. But life steps in and takes a turn or two.

23. Lipstick in Afghanistan

Wouldn't have read this if it weren't in RD. And I still didn't love it because I don't like reading about wars and the stupid taliban. Thank the Lord that we weren't born in Afghanistan!!!

22. Promise Me

Good book with the similar feel of Time Travelers Wife.

1st 2 paragraphs of book

Locked away in jewelry boxes, hidden in my closet, are two necklaces. They are gifts from 2 different men. Both of these necklaces are beautiful, both of them valuable, and I wear neither of them, but for entirely 2 different reasons - one because of a promise broken, the other because of a promise kept.

As you read my story, there is something I want you to understand. That in spite of all the pain - past, present, and that is still to come - I wouldn't have done anything differently. Nor would I trade the time I had with him for anything - except for what, in the end, I traded it for.

Enough said! Who wouldn't want to read this book?


Wednesday, October 5, 2011

21. The Fifth Dial

This was my last audio book and was pretty good except that I did NOT like the narrator. Ugh! But anyway, the story was pretty good. Terrifying because it is about being kidnapped and having one of your organs taken for the illegal organ donor market. A private investigator and a medical student finally get to the bottom of it through many twists and turns.
I may never travel alone!!!

19. The Well of Lost Plots & 20. Something Rotten

Both of these books are in the "Thursday Next" series. I loved them. In the Well of Lost Plots, Thursday's husband has been eradicated and she needs a place to escape for a while. So she goes to the "well". This is where unpublished books wait to be published or erased. They are mostly poorly written books. So the characters of these books are really funny.
In Something Rotten, Thursday is seriously fighting Yurrick Kaine. He is a fictional character who has escaped into the real world. And he is trying to become dictator of the world with the help of an invention called the ovinator (which when turned on - makes everyone think that what you say makes perfect sense). She also gets called upon the help lead the Swindon Mallets to victory in the Super Hoop. What, you didn't know that croquet is the hottest national sport? Well with the help of a group of reengineered neanderthals, this may just happen. By the way, if the Mellets don't win, there is a good chance that Kaine will become the dictator and the world will soon be in World War 3. No pressure!
Very good series!!!